


love love love (when you know i can't love) you

by Talinor



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Arguments, Love Confession, M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-12-02 11:14:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11508252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talinor/pseuds/Talinor
Summary: Keith and Lance end up stranded on an abandoned planet. They argue. Certain details slip out.





	love love love (when you know i can't love) you

**Author's Note:**

> my brain: write angst right now  
> me: why  
> my brain: why not  
> me: it's nearly 1 am  
> my brain: so?  
> me: ...good point  
> title's from love love love by of monsters and men  
> i'm v tired so i'll probably edit this in the morning  
> enjoy!

"Keeeeeith," Lance complained. "It's-"

Keith suddenly stopped, turning to face him. Lance had been an annoying thorn in his side since they crashed on some random planet. This entire ordeal was already stressful enough- Blue and Red weren't responding, their comms weren't working, and they had been hiking for _hours_ in what felt like the deepest level of hell. Sweat soaked his suit and hair and his throat felt drier than it had ever been. There was no sign of easing up and he was at his wit's end.

"I _swear to God,"_ he practically growled. "If you tell me it's too hot one more time," he summoned his bayard and activated it. "I _will_ cut you. Don't think I won't."

Lance's eyes widened slightly at the threat. "Jeez Keith," he said. "What's got you so touchy, man? You need to loosen up." He carefully pushed the tip of the blade away from him. Keith let it deactivate.

"Lance," he sighed. "We are in the middle of nowhere right now." He gestured out all around them. It was pretty much the same ashy gray dry plains as far as the eye could see, holding up a void red sky. The sun was a red iris with a core like a dilated pupil, casting a red tint on the entire planet and the two of them. "We have no way out of here," he extended a finger for every reason he gave. "No way of knowing if anyone even knows we're here, no food or water, and to top it all off, I'm stuck with _you."_ He jabbed a finger at Lance's chestplate. "So forgive me if I'm not Mr. Sunshine and Rainbows right now, okay?"

"Really?" Lance crossed his arms. "I couldn't tell, I was just missing your _sunny_ personality." He gestured up to the planet's sun.

Keith could say something else. Tell him to screw off or that they needed to find something to help them and that whining every step of the way wasn't gonna get them there any faster. But it was pretty easy to see he'd just be wasting his time and breath. So he just sighed and turned to keep walking.

At least, he tried to.

A hand grabbed at his wrist and pulled him back like the tide. "Hey," Lance said. "Look at me." Reluctantly he did, only to meet Lance's sweat-slicked mildly concerned yet pissed expression. "What is the _deal_ with you lately?"

His brows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm 'talking about' how I thought we got past this!" Lance's rising volume filled the open air. It's not like there was anyone around to overhear them anyways. "I thought we were finally actually _getting along! Bonding!_ And then out of nowhere you just start... shutting everyone out again! We can't form Voltron, no one could talk to you for like 5 minutes before you'd get all weird and make some excuse to leave." He cast his eyes down, voice growing softer. The wear and tear of his dry throat started to come out. "And then you almost die from some... Galra rando." His eyes met Keith's again, hard and determined to find an answer. "So tell me why. Right now."

For a moment, Keith considered telling him the truth.

What happened instead was him wrenching his wrist from Lance's grip, glaring, and saying one of his favorite phrases. "It's none of your business."

"It _is_ my business, Keith!" Lance shouted incredulously, then turned his voice down. Soft and consoling, like the therapist Keith hated seeing. "It affects the team, so it's my business. We're all here to help you, Keith. We all want to." He placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. "All you have to do is let us in."

Annoyance and frustration burned in his chest. The smoke surrounding him was too thick to see through, entering his lungs and corrupting him. This little talk was just a waste of time they didn't have right now. Lance couldn't see that.

But he'd _make him_ see.

He jerked his shoulder away from the comforting touch. "Let me make something perfectly clear, _Sharpshooter._ Since your eyes aren't as sharp as you think they are," he said, words practically dripping with venom. "I am not your _friend,_ okay? I'm not responsible for your emotional stability, and you aren't responsible for mine." He stepped closer, straightening himself to be as tall as he could manage. Icy eyes met fiery ones. They met in the middle, impassive in their equilibrium. Waiting for who'd make the first move.

Keith fired the first shot. "I don't need you." Then went for an unnecessary one that he knew would sting. "No one does." He turned to keep walking on, fully expecting to be stopped again. And to avoid seeing the hurt.

"Why do you hate me all of a sudden?" Lance's voice was angry now, loud to hide how deep that bullet landed. "What did I even _do_ to you?!"

Keith, as always, rose to the same level. He turned and stormed back over to him. "Do you really wanna know _right now?"_

"Yeah, I do," Lance, as always, took the bait perfectly. "'Cause I wanna know what I apparently did to deserve--"

 _"You broke my heart!"_ Keith's voice might as well have been a thunderclap in an empty canyon. The sound seemed to echo and ripple through the air for miles. The words took a few ticks to really sink in for Lance- time Keith used to reach into an armor pocket.

"...What?" Lance's murmured, completely off-guard at the answer he got.

"I..." Keith licked at his chapped lips and avoided Lance's eyes. "...I fell in love with you like a _complete idiot,_ and you didn't love me back." He thumbed at the fragile object hidden in his pocket. A reminder. "I didn't think you were even into guys, and I have a duty to protect the Universe. So I thought... Maybe if I avoided you, I might get over it before..." A stupid plan in retrospect. But he was desperate and scared. "Then I almost died to some 'Galra rando' and..." He hid the object in his hand as he brought it out and set to place it on Lance's palm. "The healing pods fixed me." He moved his hands away, allowing Lance to see Keith's little gift.

A single blue rose petal, stained at the edges with blood. Lance stared at it. For once in his life, he was struck completely speechless.

"I'm... sorry I didn't tell you about it," he said. "I should have, but..." He shot Lance a halfhearted smile. "Guess there's nothing I can really do about it now. So to answer your question- I don't hate you, Lance." Now it was his turn to place his hand on Lance's shoulder. "But I don't... _like_ you, either." The smile fell. "I can't anymore. I'm sorry."

Lance looked to him. "Keith--"

"End team-building simulation."

**Author's Note:**

> this is the closest thing i will ever write to hanahaki disease  
> comments are always appreciated (even if they're just saying how much they hate me for this)  
> come yell at me on tumblr: squishy--squish


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